After daylight savings ended. sailors were out on the water one hour earlier and enjoyed the steady one to three knot breeze. It was glassy out from the clubhouse which made for slow departures and returns.

The start of race one was delayed to 1.20pm to allow competitors to sail out to the W mark for the start of a triangular course in the area of wind between A and B and W marks.

By the time it began, the wind was dying so the fleet travelled very slowly to A mark. Trevor, Chris and Patrick established a big lead over the bulk of the fleet after rounding A mark but progress was at a snail's pace.

OOD Owen determined that the race would be shortened to finish at B mark as more than one hour had elapsed and the three leaders were still becalmed 200 metres from a finish with the rest of the fleet only halfway from A to B mark.

Chris and Trevor had taken a "flyer" to the north of the rhumb line which had paid off whereas Patrick sailed the straight rhumb line course and had lost 80 metres to them.

A faint westerly was bringing the bulk of the fleet at the back ever so slowly down to the leaders but they were still 250 metres behind.

100 metres to the north of the "new finish" B mark Chris and Trevor tacked on a reach to the finish. This angle gave Chris that fraction of knot faster than Patrick who had the wind dead behind.

Chris was able to reduce his wetted surface by heeling on the reach to the finish. Patrick had not sufficiently reduced his wetted surface by heeling and sailing in an extreme bow down mode at the mast to lift the transom well above the water aft.

Owen said that's what Laser sailors do all the time in Canberra on Lake Burley Griffin where light conditions are the norm. It's rare for the club to have to resort to these sailing techniques.

Chris inched first home in 70 mins 37 secs with Patrick 1 min 43 secs behind and Trevor on his A class cat in 76 mins 27 secs. Richard was fourth in 77 mins 32 secs.

The nine sailors at the back of the fleet all finished together in a 28 seconds blanket finish from fifth to ninth place. The Lasers filled the first five places on handicap.

Suffice to say the lake had glassed out by the time the fleet sailed home from B mark. The second race was not sailed.

Race 1

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